Thursday, May 21, 2015

Okay, you guys. So I've been living in my grandmother's old house for almost a year now, and I've slowly been redecorating to suit my own tastes. The rug that has been in the sunroom is an eyesore, and I finally found a rug I loved enough to buy in order to replace it. At the same time, the plaid sofa isn't really my favorite either, so I also bought a slipcover to tone down its "busy-ness". The update turned out better than I hoped.

Here are the before pictures:

After:

Quite a difference, I'd say. And the dogs seem to approve, as well (after all, they're the ones whose opinions really matter).

While the original rug was a 9x12, the new one is an 8x10. I was worried about the difference in size, but part of me wanted to give the hardwood floors more exposure. I'm still tinkering with the furniture arrangement (my mother insists that the rug be lined up with the sofa, while I'm having a hard time finding a way to make the armchairs match up to everything. I do wish the rug were just a foot or so longer, but all in all I'm happy with the outcome. Now if we could just tackle those awful window treatments.. (and don't get me started on the dining room area rug).

Oh well. You can't do it all at once. They say you should tackle home renovations one project at a time, in order to avoid making hasty mistakes. If one thing's for sure, it's that these projects are definitely taking longer than expected (due to time and financial constraints). Then again, Rome wasn't built in a day. Here's to challenging my resistance to "delayed gratification".

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

I found an interesting article on EliteDaily.com this morning. The gist of it theorizes that while falling in love can happen to anyone and can be considered circumstantial, building a relationship with someone is purpose-driven. Learning to love with a purpose is an entirely different concept from the initial butterflies in the stomach type love. I think I've (as well as many other people) known this to be true for a while, but to have someone put it into words really hits home.

Anyone can develop those careless, head-in-the-clouds, need for closeness feelings at any point in time. Learning to love through thoughtful, purposeful actions is a much deeper, more evolved process. Essentially, you can look at it as the initial infatuation giving you an incentive to develop the lasting, more dedicated devotion to someone. Falling in love is just the first step. The true meaning of love is everything that follows.

The article continues:

"Think of your relationship as maintenance – you need to regularly check the oil and all the other bits and pieces in order to make sure that it’s not going to all fall apart.People most often make the mistake of thinking that it’s enough to feel they love someone, but that isn’t what love is. The point of love is the selflessness it allows for – what you feel has nothing to do with it.On the other hand, building a relationship, week over week, year over year, allows for something that is everlasting, something meaningful, beautiful and powerful. Falling in love doesn’t have that sort of force. Only relationships do.

Anyone can fall in love – in fact, just about everyone does, several times in his or her life. People fall in love every day, and then fall out of love the very next.Building a relationship, on the other hand, is much more rare. Why? Because people don’t like to work for anything. We’re all lazy by nature, and unfortunately, most of us never change, never learn better, never make an effort to become better individuals.Relationships take a lot of work. Love takes a lot of work. Falling in love takes no work, which is why it’s so appealing. Until, of course, we move past the honeymoon phase and into something more real. That’s when people get cold feet and run for the hills.Falling in love can be a bit deceiving. It can lead to a lot of emotional distress, chaos and problems. At the same time, it’s so incredibly pleasurable. If you want to live a happy life, then you need to find the right balance. Build a relationship, but build it on that spark that got it all started."
Pretty deep, right? But who can actually argue with that type of logic? The thing is, anyone can -- and does, often -- fall in love. Living for that love, and choosing to love someone day in and day out is what makes our foundation solid. It makes you wonder if modern society's divorce rate doesn't have something to do with the fact that so few people understand the very essence of a purpose-driven love. The initial lust fades so quickly, and if we're not willing to work towards maintaining something more solid with someone, we'll never succeed in understanding what love is.

About Me

Hey y'all, thanks for stopping
by The Clarity Chase!
My husband and I live in a small town
in North Carolina with our two rescue mutts
and a baby on the way!
During the week I'm a contracts analyst for
the local health system, and on my time off I'm
a dedicated yogi, low-carb cook, avid reader,
part-time traveler and novice photographer.
I've been working on this blog in one capacity
or another since 2013, and it's always been a
wonderful way for me to connect with others!
I'm always open to comments, questions and
suggestions, so please don't be shy!
Feel free to tag along!